Israeli paratroopers arrested five terrorists affiliated with Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad during an operation in Qabatiya, northern Samaria, last week, the Israel Defense Forces said.
The detainees included three Hamas affiliates and two Palestinian Islamic Jihad affiliates, according to the military.
In a separate counterterrorism operation in the Binyamin area of Samaria, troops from the Paratroopers Brigade’s 202nd Battalion searched more than 50 locations for weapons and questioned suspects affiliated with Hamas, the IDF said.
Separately, the Israel Police arrested two Palestinians in the Judean city of Bethlehem during raids that uncovered a loaded hunting rifle, IDF uniforms and electronic equipment, the force said.
One suspect was identified through police intelligence as having ties to the Hamas terrorist organization.
The suspects, in their 20s and 30s, were jailed after questioning over alleged illegal possession of weapons and military equipment. In a separate operation in the Hebron area, police arrested a third suspect, 30, and seized another hunting rifle and ammunition.
The arrests come in the wake of Friday’s deadly attack near Hebron. The soldiers who intercepted the terrorists likely prevented an attack that could have killed “dozens” of people, a senior official in the IDF’s Central Command told JNS on Monday.
Two IDF soldiers were killed and three others were wounded in the shootout near the Yehuda Junction in Judea.
The IDF identified the slain soldiers as Staff Sgt. Ron Yonatan Roytman, 23, and Sgt. Yuval Shai Svilem, 20.
Their battalion had adjusted its standard operating procedures due to heightened security sensitivities, the official told JNS. It had been operating in the area for two weeks and identified weak points, including the road where the attack took place.
As a result, the battalion placed troops at a checkpoint that is not normally operational, catching the terrorists by surprise.
The terrorists left a large quantity of ammunition in their vehicle, which, according to the official, was likely meant for “a significantly larger terrorist attack.”
The official credited the commanders’ professionalism and the determination of the soldiers who were killed and wounded with having saved “many lives.”
Meanwhile, IDF troops on Sunday uncovered an underground excavation near the Hebron home of one of the terrorists involved in Friday’s attack, the military said on Monday.
The shaft is about 15 meters (49 feet) deep and 75 centimeters (30 inches) wide, according to the IDF. An initial assessment found it does not appear to have an exit.
Troops found an “electronic device” inside. It was handed to the security forces for further examination, the military said.
The excavation was found during searches of more than 500 sites launched in the wake of the attack.
Troops are continuing searches, arresting suspects and seizing weapons and illegal vehicles, the IDF said. It stressed that the excavation is inside Hebron, with no Jewish communities nearby.
Over the weekend, Israeli security forces arrested some 40 Palestinian suspects across Judea and Samaria in counterterrorism operations that spanned more than 400 areas, the IDF said on Saturday night.
Among those detained were Palestinians affiliated with Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, as well as suspects involved in incitement, public disorder and rock-hurling, the military said.
